U N F E E L I N G
by Hazelnose
Summary: In a dystopian Clan society, disabled cats who've reached the age of a warrior must compete in a tournament that decides that the last one standing is the one with the right to be a warrior. Morningpaw, a blind and small apprentice, has no hope of living.
1. Prologue

**This is my first story! I'm quite new to posting stories, but not writing them; I've been a bit of a 'floater' around the site for years and years, but have just now decided to join. This story will be angst filled and a bit gory - the T rating vastly implied for it. Critiques are allowed, but no flamers. I won't tolerate it. I hope that, since this is the prologue, this is enjoyable!**

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**P **_**r o l o g u e**_

_Her abdomen ached from where the two kits had just come out, the placenta quickly deposited outside of the nursery as it sloshed it's way out of her. Her breathing was ragged, heavy from the bearing of pushing two kits out of her belly and into life, where they'd become warriors, learning in the fine and polished arts of hunting and fighting for StormClan._

"_You did a good job, Ravenfrost!" Her panting became duller as she looked up at the medicine cat, Willowstream, who was looking over her and her two kits proudly. The silver tabby smiled brightly and gently, her tail coming over to the two, newborn kittens and tapping their backs with her tail-tip. _

_Ravenfrost blinked, and for the first time, looking down at her two kittens. One was already bigger than the other; short but soft-looking black fur lining it's large shape, and a small tail curling over it's hind leg. She smiled softly at the kit, her identical black paw reaching forward to touch it's back gently, feeling it's tiny heartbeat against her rough paw pad. _

_Willowstream's smooth voice brought her back to reality. "That one's the tom. He's going to be a big one, no doubt!" the medicine cat exclaimed. _

_Ravenfrost nodded, being pulled back into the entrancement of the sight of her two kits that she had put into the world, both breathing steadily as they suckled to fill their new found hunger._

_Her eyes left her son, and slowly going to her other kit, who she presumed to be her daughter, by her noticeable feminine features. The she-kit was tinier than her brother; while the tom-kit took no effort to push her over so he could suckle his mother's milk, Ravenfrost's daughter had mewed in a pitchy and new voice until Willowstream had nudged her to her mothers belly. _

_Her daughter was a cream color; obviously this fur trait had been inherited from her father. Her fur, though slick from birth, was already looking as if it'd be a troublesome thing to sleep next to in a den; fuzzy, and tickling. _

_Ravenfrost looked over her son and daughter with a sharp sense of pride and overwhelming love, watching as the pair's backs and flanks rose and fell with their steady breathing, the tom-kit already stopping his suckling, having filled his hunger. _

_She had forgotten that Willowstream had been standing there, observing the new mother, until the medicine cat's meow once again cut through the warm and comfortable air: "What are you going to name them?" she asked, politely, but eagerly._

_Ravenfrost couldn't help but fight a small smile; naming her kits was something that she always wanted to do. _I know that I should wait for Lightstorm to come back from the dawn patrol, _she thought, her thoughts drifting to her absent mate, _but I know he won't mind if I name them without him. _She smiled once again, brighter, looking down at her son and daughter._

"_Well," she began, inhaling, "For the tom, I think I'd like to name him Nightkit," she meowed, bending forward and nuzzling her son's back with a dark-colored nose. _

_Nightkit let out a mew, his still-developing paws kicking out and pawing at Ravenfrost's belly. She purred, brushing her tail across his frame. _

_Ravenfrost turned to her daughter, sighing blissfully. The tiny cream kitten was feeding actively at her belly, her tail-tip flicking contentedly. The new mother pursed her lips for a moment, before sighing. "For the she-kit, I'd like her to be Morningkit," she meowed, a contented purr growing in her throat as the now-Morningkit mewed, her tiny toes ticking Ravenfrost's belly. _

_She smiled gracefully, nuzzling both of her kits. "Nightkit and Morningkit," she breathed out, watching the two kits that she had given life to fed._

A despondent sigh left Ravenfrost's throat, watching as Morningkit stumbled from her nest. She stretched out her legs as she tapped the ground ahead of her, before allowing the paw to come in full contact with the ground. The queen felt her throat clench as the tiny kit sniffed the air, attempting to pad to her unknown destination.

Her tiny paws scooping through the upturned moss from Nightkit's former play, Morningkit let out a delighted purr as her pads touched a new surface, pawing at it and bouncing it between her paws.

_Of course it's so amusing to her, _Ravenfrost thought dully, blinking at her daughter with regretful eyes. _She wouldn't know the difference between a thorn and a mouse - not at this age. _

Unknown to the tiny cream kitten, her brother, who was faintly concealed in a bundle of moss that he had built up by himself, was quietly creeping toward her. His newly changed golden eyes were wide with mischief as he curled into a hunters crouch, unbeknownst to his smaller sister.

The bigger kit let out a fake battle cry, pouncing on his littermate. Morningkit's eyes widened as her brothers heavier weight was now pressed down on her, causing her to sink to the floor. Nightkit was almost the size of a new apprentice despite his young age of three moons, something that was both a blessing and a curse. Morningkit tried to wiggle away, the shock from the surprise still in her eyes.

Nightkit's large paws batted at her face, causing her to let out a squeak of displeasure, to which Nightkit noticeably ignored.

Ravenfrost let out a warning growl, narrowing her eyes. "Nightkit," she meowed sharply, causing her only son to look up from his play-fight, eyes wide and innocent. "When someone squeaks, you _let go_."

Nightkit blinked, clambering off of his smaller sister, ears flattened to his head in his confusion.

Ravenfrost sighed, watching as Nightkit mumbled a small apology to the cream kit as she scuttled up. Morningkit's fur fluffed up, and the tiny she-kit tottered away from her larger littermate, climbing back into Ravenfrost's nest.

Her son looked at his sister with irritation, before turning his eyes to his mother. "It's not fair," he mumbled, eyes looking down at the floor instead of meeting his mother's now-questionable gaze.

Ravenfrost blinked. "What's not fair?" she asked, voice turning softer.

Nightkit's tail dropped. "I can't play with Morningkit at all!" he mewed, looking back up at Ravenfrost. The queen blinked, before her son clarified himself a little bit further: "She always squeaks whenever we do play fights, and you always act like it's my fault!" he cried, tail now lashing.

Ravenfrost sighed. "I know it's not fun being the only kits inside of the den now, but Grayfeather's kits will be born soon, and-"

Nightkit frowned. "But they'll be too young and too little to play with me," he muttered.

The black-furred queen blinked sympathetically, her throat feeling heavy as Nightkit carried on, still not done with his miniature rant.

"And ever since Falconkit got hurt and Eaglepaw became an apprentice, you've been so much more protective of Morningkit. I don't understand what you're so worried about, Mother!" Nightkit huffed, staring at his sister and his mother.

Morningkit curled into her mothers chest, causing Ravenfrost to let out another sigh, throat still tight.

_Because when she's ready to become a warrior, she'll be put into a cruel tournament to see if she can become a warrior. And all of the blind kits are the ones to die first._

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**Okay, this may be confusing. But for more info on this whole plot, a look onto my profile should be a little bit more clear on it. Yes, I have a bit of a thing for naming kits like Nightkit and Morningkit are named, and how Eaglepaw and Falconkit are named (they are siblings). **

**I hope you all enjoyed it, and feel free to tell me how you feel in the review section!**


	2. Chapter 1

**Thank you all for your reviews, favorites, and story alerts! Thank you for your support. **

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**C **_**h a p t e r 1**_

The balmy sunlight heated her face up as it rose over the tree tops, the light sinking into the apprentices den as the dawn turned to midmorning. Her nose was poked into the moss of her nest, to which she easily pulled her muzzle back and cleared her nostrils of the ticklish tendrils. The tiny apprentice got to her paws, sliding down into a stretch, and feeling content as her spine bones cracked in her relaxing twist, her tail flicking before she returned to a normal position.

She shook out her fur, unsheathing and sheathing her claws to get the comforting feel of her claws. Even though she was against using them against another cat, it was satisfying to know that her claws worked well incase Birchfire made her climb another oak today. A small prickle of discomfort snipped at her, but she forced it out, her whiskers twitching as she felt another ray of sunlight beat against her face.

The small apprentice's jaws opened, her teeth glimmering in the shine, until she closed them off from the light, blinking. _Just another hot greenleaf morning, _She sighed, nose twitching.

She heard the nest beside her crackle, and a loud yawn break the stiff silence that had surrounded her.

"It's morning already?" She cracked a smile as she heard Rainpaw's exhausted mew, the apprentice's fur pressing on her leg as she rolled beside her.

She remembered how Rainpaw's mentor, Brightfeather, had called Rainpaw for an extensive night training, not getting back to the den until an hour after moonhigh - or so she had heard.

She nodded, looking back in the direction of the sunlight. "Yeah," she meowed in a mellow tone. "But Brightfeather's a good mentor. I'm sure she'll let you sleep in a little longer." She told the other apprentice.

_I know Birchfire wouldn't, _she thought with resentment, but decided against saying it out loud. Her mentor was a good warrior, no doubt, but he was easy to anger, and he usually took a sort of joy in making her do harder work if she said anything against his orders. _Which makes me wonder why Thrushstar made him my mentor. _

She felt a wave of relief come from Rainpaw, before the moss in the other apprentices nest crackled, and she turned from her. "Thanks, Morningpaw," she murmured, before the sounds coming from her body dulled, and the apprentice began snorting in her sleep steadily.

Morningpaw let out a blissful sigh, suddenly feeling a small rumble in the pit of her stomach. Even though she usually decided to eat in the middle of the day, she remembered what Birchfire had told her yesterday, during another stressful training lesson.

"We're starting early tomorrow morning," the tom had growled gruffly, his voice reminding her of the sound of claws scratching against a rock surface.

She had tipped down her muzzle, feeling a sense of dispraise toward herself. Morningpaw scuffled her paws together and tipped her head up in his direction as she heard her mentor clear his throat to speak again,

"You're going to need a lot more training if you want to make it-" he had cut himself off, a sense of discomfort coming from the senior warrior.

Morningpaw's curiosity rolled from her pelt, and she twitched her whiskers. "If I'm going to make it to what?" she asked in puzzlement.

Birchfire hadn't answered her, his tail-tip flicking over her shoulder as he padded off, Morningpaw following after him steadily.

Sighing, the cream apprentice tilted her muzzle up, the warm scent of prey flooding her nostrils. Her paws felt the familiar pathway leading to the center of the Clan camp, and in no time her nose was brushing against the soft fur of the prey, sniffing each one to see which was best for her cravings.

Her jaws opened to close around a vole's fragile body, dragging the meat down and next to the fresh-kill pile, her mouth watering as she bit into it.

"You act like you haven't eaten in moons," Morningpaw's ears pricked as she heard the familiar, deep mew, her mouth curving into a smile.

The cream she-cat looked up. "Nightpaw," she purred, getting to her paws and reaching up to rub noses with her brother. She felt Nightpaw's face flush with embarrassment, and Morningpaw recoiled, her forepaw pressing softly on the vole.

She heard the grass blades crinkle underneath her brothers heavy weight as the large apprentice settled himself in front of her.

"So," he meowed suddenly, causing her ears to prick as she began to bunch her legs together, laying down. "How's Birchfire? Is he as hard as everyone says he is?" The hint of protectiveness that came from Nightpaw caused Morningpaw to sigh, slightly shaking her head.

_He's so protective of me sometimes, _She smiled despite her thoughts, a paw reaching out to brush against Nightpaw's huge ones. Her smiled faltered, though, as she considered his question, thinking back about their training session yesterday.

"Oh," she began slowly, feeling a small wave of a different emotion coming from Nightpaw's black fur. "He's…he's good. Tough, but I'm learning," She smiled again, her tail flicking, "But, at this rate, we can be warriors by next quarter moon!" she let out a purr, whiskers twitching.

She heard Nightpaw purr in agreement. "Yeah, we could be." He murmured, but she noticed that he voice sounded distant, in a way.

Morningpaw blinked. "Is everything okay?" she asked.

The grass crinkled once more, and she heard Nightpaw sigh once more. "Yeah," he muttered, flicking over her ears again with his tail. "Everything is…fine," She didn't miss the hesitation is his sentence, but Morningpaw didn't dwell on it, hearing the large tom's pawsteps fade away as he padded off, perhaps back to the apprentices den, or maybe to the warriors den. _Probably going to get Mouseleap, _She sighed as she thought of her brothers kinder mentor, the excitable but sensible warrior.

Her ears pricked as she heard heavy pawsteps drum toward her, Morningpaw's head swinging in the sound's direction.

"We're training in the trees today," She let out a small sigh as she heard Birchfire's familiar and gruff meow come from a few pawsteps ahead of her.

As her sigh trailed off, she blinked, tilting her head up. "Why? I haven't heard from the other apprentices that they're doing that," she asked, but soon regretted even thinking the words once Birchfire let out an impatient growl.

"Does it matter why? All that matters is that you have the skill. Do you understand how much of an advantage you'd have if you knew how to climb trees? Or do you just not care enough to try?" Morningpaw cringed, spine fur spiking up. "You know, Willowstream would probably love an apprentice to help out in her den," Her eyes widened. Even though her mentor had used this threat constantly with her, each time it made her prickle in fear. "So I'll say this again: We're training in the trees today."

Morningpaw didn't hesitate to nod her head, scrambling up to her paws as Birchfire let out a grunt, his pawsteps beginning to fade as he padded away. _Every time, _she thought as she bounded after him, her little legs only carrying her so far. _Every time I ask him why we're doing something, he snaps at me. It's not fair that every other apprentice gets the nice mentors, and I'm stuck with grouchy, old Birchfire. _

The sweet scent of the forest filled around her, and she blocked it out as best as she could; Birchfire was always one to tell her that she spent too much time sniffing, and using one of her senses, but not enough time listening. The larks twittered above her, the sound of their wings flapping against the small breeze filling her ears with a peaceful noise. She bounded forward a few more pawsteps, catching up closely with her mentor.

Her mentor moved swiftly through the forest, his bigger frame allowing him to travel further and faster from the apprentice than she could. _I wish my legs were bigger, _she thought, suddenly, and with a remorseful feeling in the pit of her belly. _But I'm so small. I'm not big enough - not like Nightpaw. He's _huge_! Already the size of a warrior! _Morningpaw bounced over a branch that had fallen from the rainstorm a few moons before, landing in a small pile of tattered grass.

"Move a little faster," Birchfire called back, the irritation in his voice evident. "You have to be light on your paws."

Morningpaw's head bobbed as the little she-cat scuttled after her mentor; her mentor didn't seem to want to slow down, even though the apprentice was struggling. _I'm not surprised. _

She felt the ample tom ahead of her continue with his ignoring, even though Morningpaw let out small whimpers of discomfort when her paw hit a stone, or when she accidentally had too long of a step and almost slipped.

The grass beneath her soft, pink pawpads thinned, turning into soft dirt, her paws dipping underneath a small layer, before she pulled them out. Morningpaw hopped onto a more solid area, the dirt feeling cold and hard beneath her small paws. She scented Birchfire here, but the broad tom hadn't spoken since his snap at her to hurry up. Morningpaw's ears pricked, and she sniffed the air, the scent of the plentiful prey around them filling her nose again.

After a few moments of strange silence, she blinked, turning to face her mentor. "Birchfire," she mewed, "Who are you waiting-" she was just beginning to ask, until her mentor roughly cut her off.

"For Shadeclaw and Falconpaw," he grunted, "They'll be joining us for this lesson." And he didn't give any indication that he wanted to pry further, to which Morningpaw mutely nodded to.

She knew Falconpaw a bit; he was a larger apprentice - not as big as Nightpaw, but still was quite big - and the tom was older than she and Nightpaw. Falconpaw had a limp on his front right leg, from an accident that he suffered as a kit after he and his brother, Eaglestorm, had been playing by the fallen tree bridge. Falconpaw had slipped, causing him to permanently damage his front leg.

Falconpaw was more reserved and private than the other apprentices that she knew - Rainpaw had said that it probably came from the fact that, if Falconpaw hadn't gotten his injury, than he would've been a warrior by this time. But Nightpaw talked to him from time to time, and he didn't seem too bad.

_Well, it's better than being just by myself, _She blinked, tilting her head up as the branches creaked in the wind. _Being alone with Birchfire isn't something that I plan on spending my morning. _

New scents flitted to her nose, and Morningpaw twitched her whiskers as she heard rough and off putted pawsteps come into the clearing, followed by more swift and powerful strides.

"Glad you're here, Shadeclaw," Birchfire meowed, and Morningpaw could hear the slight swish in the wind, probably of his tail lashing.

Shadeclaw's calm voice, smooth, but hiding a fierce one behind a thick façade, caused her to dip her head in respect when she realized that the tom must've been facing her. "Glad to be here. Falconpaw and Morningpaw are going to need this training," he mewed, and Morningpaw's ears pricked. He had said their names lower than before, and, even though this was a minor, tiny change, it still felt suspicious.

Falconpaw's confusion was a companion to her own, the tom cat almost as confused as she. "Eaglestorm never got this training," the tom mewed lowly, a bit to himself, but loud enough for it to be carried to her ears.

She felt irritation prickling from her mentors pelt, but was relieved when she heard Shadeclaw cut in.

"Yes, well, these methods are a little…advanced. Every apprentice will be learning them at one point or another," he meowed gently, but to both of them rather than just Falconpaw.

Morningpaw blinked, considering the answer. _They're both acting really, really weird. _She shook her head. _Well, OakClan _has_ been giving us a lot of pressure at the borders. I know it's bothering all of the warriors and Mom and Dad. _

She felt a small ripple of irritation come from Falconpaw, but the larger apprentice didn't speak out any of his thoughts, only remained quiet. Morningpaw heard small murmuring coming from Birchfire and Shadeclaw, but she couldn't prick her ears to listen and further.

Everyday, she'd feel emotions, hear whispers, and scent distress, more so as the days passed, and as she grew a bit more experienced. _I know something is bothering them, _she thought, blinking. _But I just wish that they could just tell me to my face that they're not happy with how I'm doing as an apprentice. Just because I can't see their distress, doesn't mean I can't feel or hear it. _

Birchfire's voice pulled her from her reverie, blinking up in his direction. "Morningpaw, Falconpaw, a lot of warriors from other Clans, and even from our own don't think that you two can make it to be warriors. You two need this training - need tree training," She snickered slightly at 'tree training', but stopped when she felt burning amber eyes turn to her. "So I don't want to hear how much your paws hurt, how much you don't like climbing trees." He finished, sharply, and she felt his eyes leave her, probably to give Falconpaw the same, harsh glare.

_Why did I have this feeling that we were climbing trees today? _She let out a small sigh, but sucked it back in when she felt Birchfire's gaze on her again. _I'm calling it a sixth sense, I guess. I think it makes up for my eyesight._

She felt askew steps coming from where Falconpaw was positioned, the tom letting out small grunts as he walked stiffly toward Birchfire and Shadeclaw.

"You too, Morningpaw. Falconpaw's not the only one who needs the training," She was glad when she heard Shadeclaw murmur this too her; Birchfire would take no moment of hesitation to snap at her.

Morningpaw bounced forward, halting when she felt Falconpaw's tail-tip brush across her nose. The larger cat moved at a slow, uneven pace - having a fractured foreleg instead of a hind leg must've been hard for the usually quiet but brooding apprentice.

Morningpaw's whiskers brushed against the thick oak tree, her paws pressing against it's tough bark. _Okay, climbing a tree isn't that hard. _She thought as she unsheathed her claws, lifting her hind legs from the grass.

Falconpaw was struggling; she felt the tom gasp as he began climbing the tree, his scent leaning away from her as he put his weight on his other leg rather than his injured one. She knew that he couldn't feel pain in it anymore after the facture - Willowstream had explained it to her while she was helping the medicine cat prepare borage for Grayfeather after Rainpaw and Stonepaw were born.

Morningpaw scented the thick canopies above her, where she could've sworn she heard the faint twitter of larks, one smaller and more pitchy, and the other more thick and sing song-y. _A mother and a chick. _

Morningpaw heightened herself, feeling a branch underneath her paws. Morningpaw whimpered as her legs swung out, exposed; she didn't know how far down she was from the ground.

The cream she-cat stood on the branch with wobbly legs, her fluffy plume of a tail standing erect to balance herself. She dug her claws into the thick bark, praying to StarClan that she didn't lose her balance and tumble down into the grass circle around the tree.

"Stop looking down!" She jolted as she heard Birchfire's sharp yell come from the ground, lowering herself and curling her tail around the branch. "You'll loose your balance so easily!"

_Thanks for the vote of confidence, Birchfire. _She thought about rolling her eyes, but decided against it since she could feel the warriors angry eyes glaring up at her through the breeze.

She could still hear Falconpaw's grunts, and the cream she-cat blinked, looking down. "Are you okay, Falconpaw?" she asked, sniffing.

Another grunt. "Because I'm sure you can jump down and haul me up," Morningpaw blinked, hearing Falconpaw's claws scrape against the trees surface. "You're not going to be anymore help then Birchfire."

Morningpaw recoiled, uncurling her tail from the tree branch.

"You two are the slowest climbers I've ever seen!" Birchfire snapped, causing Morningpaw's ears to flatten and a sense of humility to glow through her body. "Honestly, you two won't make it to be warriors!"

Morningpaw blinked, placing her paw back on the upper part of the trunk and looking down. _It's not like we'll be playing some type of game that decides whether or not we can be warriors, right?_

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**I know, I know, first chapter is very boring :P. But the next chapter will be hopefully more exciting for everyone. Thank you all for your reviews, they really lighten up my day!**

**On my blog, I'm responding to all of your reviews, and in the future will have character profiles, spoilers, and other things story-related! **

**Until next time!**


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